Combination tube splitting and constricting tool



NOV. 30, 1954 c b L 2,695,667

COMBINATION TUBE SPLITTING AND CONSTRICTING TOOL Filed Jan. 29 1951INVENTOR. Y 6707/7 647/0 BYJLAZI ATTO/PMSK United States PatentCOMBINA'I'HON TUBE SPLITTING AND CONSTRIC'IlNG TOOL Glenn H. Carroll,Overland Park, Kans. Application January 29, 1951, Serial No. 208,390 3Claims. c1. 164-73) This invention relates to a splitting device fortubular stock adapted additionally to serve the secondary function ofholding the tube in vice-like fashion after splitting thereof so as tobring the split edges together and hold the same in juxtaposition duringother operations that may be necessary with respect to the tube.

This invention relates particularly to the splicing of telephone cablesand while the device hereof may well be applied in other fields, aparticular problem is present relative to the splitting of lead splicingtubes preparatory to placing the same on a cable such as telephone wiresand analogous operations. I-Ieretofore it has been a common practice tosplit such lead pipe sections by utilizing a small handsaw and throughrelatively short strokes eventually form a longitudinal slit in the leadtube. Such method is not only time-consuming but awkward and likely tocause injury to the operator by slippage and consequent cutting of theworkmens hands or fingers.

Other methods have been proposed such as utilization of a thin wire uponwhich the lead tube is threaded and by holding the wire in a tautcondition, forcing the tube thereagainst and thereby forming the slit.Here again, extreme danger to the Workman is always present in followingthe wire principle. In any event, lead by its in herent nature, presentsa problem of binding during the cutting operation irrespective of themethod employed.

Accordingly, it is the most important object of the present invention toprovide a relatively small, inexpensive and highly eflicient tool forpermitting rapid splitting of lead tubes of varying lengths anddiameters and eliminating not only the aforesaiddangers but presenting aclean-cut and eliminating entirely the waste of time now present in thisfield.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a tube splittingdevice that comprises a small cutter that is formed in a particularmanner to avoid the binding above mentioned and to present a smooth,clean cut extending longitudinally of the lead pipe.

A further object or" the present invention is the proviion of a pipecutting device in the nature of a body that may be rigidly mounted uponany suitable support and having an elongated chain that is threadedthrough the pipe to be cut and having a cutter at one free end thereof,there being structure within the body that may be manually operated toimpart force to the chain and thereby draw the cutter longitudinallythrough the lead pipe to be split.

Other objects of this invention include the Way in which the knife orcutter itself is formed in the nature of a U-and having across-sectional contour that may properly be termed tear-drop so as toeliminate binding;

to provide means for operating the chain and the cutter i thereon thatpresents sufiicient leverage to render the cutting operation easy; topresent a tool that makes use of the mounting body itself as a receiverfor one end of the tube to be cut; and to provide means for receivingthe cutter Within the body and adapting the tool for use as a vise whileprotecting the cutter itself against damage during such use.

Many additional objects including details of construction will be madeclear'or become apparent as the following specification progresses,reference being had to the accompanying drawing therein:

Figure l is a top'plan view of a combination tubesplitting andconstricting tool made pursuant to my present invention.

Fig. 2 is a substantiallycentral, vertical, sectional Walls 14 and 16 ofthe body 2,695,667 Patented Now 30, 1954' view taken on line IlII ofFig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is an end view with the chain cutter entirely Fig. 6 is anenlarged, fragmentary, detailed, cross-.

sectional View taken online VI- -VI of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary, detailed, crosssectional View takenon line VIIVII of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

A hollow body broadly designated by the numeral 10 illustrated in thedrawing serves not only'as a support for all of the operating mechanismof the tool about to be described, but is adapted to receive one end ofa tube 12 to be split and/ or held in position thereby, all as willhereinafter be made clear.

Body 10 includes a pair of opposed side walls 14 and 16, opposed endwalls 18 and 20, a top Wall 22 and a bottom wall 24. The interior of thebody 10 is preferably rendered accessible by making the wall 16 in thenature of a removable plate held in place by a plurality Bracket 32 isprovided with opposed U-shaped channel portions 34 for slidablyreceiving the flanges 28 and the extent of movement of the body 10 inone direction with respect to the bracket'32 is limited by an up-turnedstop 36 on the bracket 32. Bracket 32 is in turn rigidly mounted to asupport 39 by screws or the like 38.

An elongated shaft 46 is rotatably mounted within 10 and extendsoutwardly beyond the wall 16 to receive a manually operable crankarm 42.A worm 44 within the body 10 between walls 14 and 16 is rigidly securedto the shaft 40 for rotation therewith upon manipulation of the handle42. Similarly, the walls 18 and 20 rotatably receive an elongated shaft46 below the worm 44 and adapted for rotation on an axis transverse tothe axis of rotation of shaft 40. The shaft 46 carries a gear 48 inmeshing relationship to the worm 44 together with a sprocket wheel 50that is adapted to receive an elongated chain 52.

The wall 14 of body 10 is provided with an opening 54 near the top wall22 thereof having much the same shape as a keyhole slot and in thepresent form of my invention such slot 54 for clearing chain 52 and acutter 56 thereon is formed within an insert 58 in wall 14. Theprovision of insert 58 permits formation of the major part of body 10out of relatively inexpensive material and it is contemplated that theinsert 58 itself be of a more rigid substance having a high tensilestrength. However, in lieu of such construction, the entire body 10 maybe made of a material that will withstand the abuse the tool may undergoduring use.

The form and construction of the cutter 56 is of extreme importance andto this extent the same is substantially U-shaped presenting a long leg60 and a relatively short leg 62. The leg 60' is preferably clampedbetween a pair of elongated bars 64 that are in turn joined to the chain52 at one end thereof with the leg 62 and the bight of the cutter 56extending above the uppermost faces ofthe bars 64. Likewise, bars 64 arejoined by a transverse pin 66 that may also extend through the cutter 56as illustrated in Fig. 7. The particular and highly importantcross-sectional contour of the cutter 56 is adequately illustrated inFig. 7'of the drawing and it is specially important that the same havethe tear-drop cross-sectional configuration shown at the bight thereofwith that edge of the cutter 56 which cuts the tube 12 rounded and thetrailing edge of the cutter 56 tapered to a relatively sharp, uprightedge. With such configuration of the cutter 56, the opening 54 withinwall 14 or insert 58 as the case may be, formed as illustrated in Fig. 3of the drawing, the lower portion of such opening 54 will adequatelyclearthe chain 52 during operation of the tool and the upper ellipticalportion of the opening 54 will receive the cutter 56. In order toobviate possible breakage of the cutter 56 as the same approaches thebody 10, the opening 54 should be beveled outwardly throughout itsperiphery as at 68.

An elongated, vertical slot 70 formed centrally in the wall 14immediately below the insert 58, is provided with a number of transverseslots 72 and stop means 74 is provided on the inner face of wall 14 foreach slot 72 respectively slightly spaced therebelow for use when thedevice is utilized in the manner illustrated in Fig. 4 and as willhereinafter be fully set forth. The chain 52 is normally held inoperative engagement with the sprocket wheel 50 on shaft 46 by itsinherent weight since wall 16 is provided with a vertical slot 76 forreceiving the chain 52 and permitting the latter to depend from thesprocket 50 in the manner shown in Figs. 2 and 4. In order to positivelyassure that the chain 52 will not become entangled with any parts of thedevice and particularly to obviate any possibility of the chain wrappingaround the sprocket 50, wall 16 is provided with an in-turned, inclinedtab 78 within slot 76 that in turn receives a substantially L-shapedguide 80 that extends upwardly at an angle from the tab 78 to which itis attached and over the shaft 46 in underlying relationship to thehorizontal stretch of the chain 52.

The elongated, plate-like guide 80 is bifurcated at its uppermost end(not shown) to clear the sprocket wheel 50., The openings 54 and 76 forclearing chain 52 are sufliciently large to permit disengagement ofchain 52 with respect to sprocket wheel 50 by lifting the same therefromand thereby permitting movement of the cutter 56 away from the bodywithout necessitating the manipulation of crank-arm 42. Opening 54however, should be sufficiently restrictive to prevent immersion ofchain 52 or other angular displacement thereof relative to sprocketwheel 50.

Accordingly, such chain movement operation constitutes the first step offorming a longitudinal split 82 in tube 12. The operator thereuponplaces one end of the tube 12 against the Wall 14 and hooks the cutter56 over the opposite end of the tube 12. If desired, an indicating linemay be formed on the tube 12 to serve as a guide for positioning thetube 12 with respect to the vertical center of opening 54 and the cutter56. After cutter 56 has thus been hooked over the outer end of tube 12,turning of the handle 42 brings the tube 12 into tight engagement withthe wall 14 of body 10 and as handle 42 is further manipulated in onedirection, cutter 56 will be advanced toward the wall 14 and a smooth,straight out 82 will be formed in tube 12. It is clear that rotation ofshaft imparts like movement to the worm 44 which rotates gear 48 andthus sprocket wheel 50, to manipulate chain 52. As the cutter 56 isadvanced toward the body 10, the chain 52 will be guided downwardly bygravity along the guide 80 and through the slot 76 of wall 16. As soonas the cutter 56 approaches the body 10, it will pass into the opening54 until stop pin 66 strikes wall 14 and the cut 82 is completedthroughout the longitudinal length of tube 12. If for any reason thetube 12 becomes slightly displaced so that cutter 56 is not guideddirectly into the center of opening 54, the beveled edge 68 of the slot54 will guide the cutter 56 into the body 10 and thereby eliminatebreakage of the cutter 56.

It is oftentimes desirable to clamp the tube 12 in place in vise-likefashion in the manner illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings. Forinstance, when the tube 12 to be used as a cable splice has a diameterlarger than necessary, it is possible through use of the cutter 56 toremove a portion of the tube 12 by forming two longitudinal cuts thereinand thereby presenting a relatively large slot 84 as shown in Fig. 4.Thereupon the tube 12 may be placed against the wall 14 in transverserelationship thereto and the chain 52 wrapped therearound after placingthe cutter 56 almost entirely within the body 10. Cutter 56 will passthrough the slot 70 and one of the transverse slots 72 will clear thepin 66. Pin 66 thereupon falls downwardly within the body 10 along theinner face of wall 14 and will come to rest upon the proximal stop 74,all as clearly shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing.

'With the tube 12 in the position illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawing,manipulation of crank-arm 42 to impart advancingaction. to the chain 52,will clamp the tube 12 in place against wall 14 and draw the edgesforming slot 84 together, and thereby reform the tube 12 with a smallerdiameter while maintaining its cylindrical crosssectional contour.

It is important to note that during the use of the tool in the mannershown in Fig. 4 of the drawing, the cutter 56 is adequately protectedagainst damage by virtue of the fact that it is entirely disposed withinthe body 10. It is also clear that either of the slots 72 may be useddepending upon the initial diameter of tube 12. Accordingly, the tubemay be used alternately as a splitting device and as a means forconstricting the tube and is adapted for use with tubes of varyinglengths and varying diameters.

Referring again to the particular cross-sectional contour of the cutter56 as shown in Fig. 7 of the drawing, the rounded leading edge of thebight thereof operating in combination with the relatively sharptrailing edge, presents a smooth straight out and eliminates bindingthat is inherently present in elongated tubes and which takestplaceduring longitudinal cutting thereof particularly when the tubes areformed of lead.

It is now clear to those skilled in the art that all of thedisadvantages of present methods of splitting tubes and holding the samein a position for additional operations thereon are eliminated throughuse of the combination tool above described and that the entire deviceis inexpensive to manufacture and capable of long life over continueduse.

Accordingly, while the above description was necessarily limited to useof the tool in the field of splicing tubes, it is also apparent that thesame may be adapted for other uses, all within the spirit of the presentinvention. It is accordingly manifest that it is desired to be limitedonly by the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A hand tool for severing tubes longitudinally thereof, said toolcomprising a support having a side wall provided with an opening; asprocket wheel on one side of said side wall; an elongated chain trainedaround said sprocket wheel and extending through said opening, saidchain having a cutter on one end thereof engageable with one end of atube to be severed upon extending the chain through the tube and whenthe opposite end of the tube is hearing against said side wall; meansrotatably mounting the sprocket wheel on the support for drawing thecutter toward said side wall upon rotation of the sprocket wheel in onedirection, said cutter being hookshaped, presenting a fing'eroverlapping the tube exteriorly thereof whereby to cooperate with theside wall in providing a sole support for the tube as the sprocket wheelis rotated to draw upon the cutter and force the tube tightly againstthe side wall, and to hold the cutter and the chain against radialmovement inwardly relative to the tube as the cutter moves toward theside wall; and structure carried by the support, operably connected withthe sprocket wheel and including a manually manipulable member forrotating the sprocket wheel.

2. A hand tool as set forth in claim 1, wherein is provided a cross-pincarried by the cutter within the tube for engagement therewith to guidethe cutter along a rectilinear path of travel and against tiltingwhereby the line of severance is radial with respect to the tube.

3. A hand tool as set forth in claim 2, wherein said opening is disposedto receive the finger and the side wall is disposed for engagement bythe cross-pin when the same has been drawn to said opposite end of thetube whereby the tube is severed throughout its length and the cutter isheld from engagement with the support, the sprocket wheel and saidstructure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 658,474 Sparks Sept. 25, 1900 700,118 Hathorn May 13, 19021,006,574 Lorenz Oct. 24, 1911 1,555,391 Surfus Sept. 29, 1925 2,010,308Leonard Aug. 6, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 10,013 0 GreatBritain May 12, 1899

